The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-04-12
THE DAILY NEWS
THE PERsIMMON IN JAPAN.
How the Haki IL Regarded In Its Nativ.
Land.


the Pacific had been somewhat monoto-
nous, and the chief diversion consisted
IN eating three square meals a day. with
few lunches in between times.
BY the third week out at sea. fruits
and vegetables became scarce. so that
the instant we reached Japan our stew
cd replenished the table with an album
dance of fresh vegetables and fruits
As we came to the table for our fare
well meal, | noticed a dish of curious
shaped fruit in front of me. which |
almost mistook for small yellow squashes,
or some new variety of tomato.
On peeling one of the mysterious OBJ
jects-as a person would peel a tomato
| found the consistency of "A peach. the
iuiciness of n melon and a large. flat
stone for a kernel. the like of which !
had never seen.
The taste of the fruit ! did not like at
first, but four years residence in Japan
made me So fond of il that nothing did
miss more on leaving the shores of Dai
Nippon than the persimmon.
This fruit, like the mango. which | af-
forward enjoyed in its perfection at Pc
nang and Singapore, is something that
the traveller becomes very much attached
to in the far East, and which he greatly
misses when he returns to the Occident.
The persimmOn is tothe Japanese what
the orange is to the FlOridian and the
apple Is to the average Yankee. Per
simmons are grown in great variety, and
are seen of various shapes and sizes, but
the most popular is a luscious, egg
shaped, fruit, us large as ones fist, from
which all the ''puckery' and astringent
properties have been taken by allowing
it to ripen very late Gas it is always best
IL
(wine) tubs. which nmparts to it ~
peculiarly delicate flavor.
The most popular present in the Mi
kado's domain is n tray of persimmOnS,
IA box of sponge cake Called ''Casterea
from the Spaniards who taught the Jap
anese how to- make it,. and small basket
of Satsuma oranges. Every day or two
L received these presents from my stu
dents, accompanied by II piece of seal
weed done up in a piece of red and white
paper, which always signifies u gift.
Persimmons and sponge cake would
frequently accumulate so fast in nv pan
try that | was forced To give them away
by the wholesale. For this reason | al
ways preferred the dried persimmons.
which keep very well. and are pressed.
sugar-coated and put up i'm boxes like
figs. In fact, many persons prefer them
to flgS. They are nutritious, healthy and
of excellent flavor, and are the most tx-
tensively used variety of dried fruit that
the Japanese Possess. In the tea-hOuSes
and wayside inns of Japan the traveller
will see strings of dried persimmons
hanging from the rafterS of the ceiling
in the same way ~ they string up dried
apples in the farm-h houses of New Eng
land.
city where I resided i'm the interior of
Japan, the Buddhist priests gave great
attention to horticulture and fruit Cul-
ture. Their displays of cherry blossoms
in the spring, and of fresh and preserved
persimmons in the fall were very fine.
The fruit is plentiful and cheap. | fire.
quently bought two or three large and
ripe specimens for a quarter of a boo"
tslx cents. But my eyes dilated some
what "A while ago. when, walking down
Bay street, in jacksonville, and seeing "a
genuine Japan persimmOn. | asked the
price, and the reply was fifty cents |
thought | would wait till next season be-
fore ordering bushel at that rate.
The native Florida persimmOn is small,
and very unsatisfactory to one accus-
toned to- the finer and larger fruit After
frost it is pleasant to the taste, though
rather too sweet and insipid. | recently
heguiled a Northern friend into climbing
persimmon tree on my plantation and
trying my Florida persimmon. but he
ate So many (neyer having seen them
before), that had to pay for the joke by
attending n first-class case of collie all the
succeeding night.
The Japan variety can be grated ON
the native stock-by root-grafting-
there is no reason why the finest Japan
fruit should not be extensively cultivated
here.
The persimmon Is regarded as a ma
tonal fruit in Japan, and many strange
legends and fables abound. in which the
fruit plays am important part. The fol-
lowing Ii one of the most popular:
Once upon time there was a crab
which lived in n hole on the shady side
of IA hill. One day he found bit of rice
cake. y monkey, who was Just finish
ing persimmon. met the crab, and Of
fered its seed for the rice cracknel. The
supplemented crab accepted the propo-
sal, and the exchange was made The
monkey eat up the rice-cake, but the crab
backed off home. and planted the per
siminon seed in his garden. \ fine tree
grew up, and the crab was delighted at
the prospect of soon enjoying the luscious
fruit He built nice, new house. and
used to sit ON the balcony watch
ing the ripening persimmons. One
day the monkey came along. and,
being hungry. congratulated the crab ON
his fine tree, and begged for some of the
himself. The crab politely agreed, re-
questing his guest to throw down some
of the fruit that he might en- ioy il him
self. The ungrateful rascal of n mon
key clambercd up. and after filling his
pockets, ate the ripest fruit as fast n,
he could, pelting the crab with the seeds
The crab now determined To out-wit the
monkey. and. pretending to enjoy the in
suits as good jokes, he dared the mon
key to show his skill. if he could. by de
scending head foremost. The monkey
accepted the friendly challenge, am
turning flank. not Tailor JapaneS,
monkeys have no tailS-he began I,
come down head foremost. of cOurs,
all the persimmons rolled out of his peck
cts. The crab. Selling the ripe fruit
ran OFT to his hole. The monkey. waitin.
till he crawled out. gave him a SCUM,
thrashing. and went home.
just ut this time Il rice-mortar wa
travelling by with his several apprentice
IA wasp, an egg and n se;i-weed. Afte
hearing the crabs story. they agreed I,
assist him. Marching to the monkey
house, and finding him out, they arrang
ell their plans. and disposed their forces
So as to vanquish their foe ON his return
The egg hid in the ashes ON the hearth
the wasp in the closet. the sea-weed nea
the door and the mortar over the Intel
When the monkey came home he light
ell a fire to steep his tea. when the eg;
burst. and so despatched his face that h
ran, bowling. to the well for water 4
cool the pain. Then the wasp flew ou
and stung him. In trying To drive off hi
fresh enemy he splipped ON the sea-wce-
and the rice-mortar fell on him am
crushed him To death.
Wasn't that splenuid; The wasp am
the mortar and the sca-wecd lived hay
plly together ever afterward- ami ia
price of persimmonS declined